Latest News

Weekly News from the President- Alliance Members Step Up

Posted onJanuary 26, 2015

Our members stepped up to the plate this past week. The House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington DC had issued a call for input on its White Paper on Video Regulation this past month. By the deadline this past Friday, ACM members had sent over 180 letters describing the value of services they provide in local communities across a wide swath of the country.

Overall, the picture we paint is impressive. Members talked about their service to help non-profits communicate their mission; about the communication and news service they support; about the Election and local government coverage they provide; about programs devoted to faith, politics, art and local economy; about communities they serve that are ignored by other media; and about their work as educators in our digital economy.

On top of reaching out to the House Committee, our members contacted the representatives in their Congressional districts: to date, one quarter of the U-S House heard from the Alliance this past week. And that’s just the start of our Congressional campaign.

Along with member comments, the Alliance prepared comments for the Committee to preserve and strengthen PEG Access across the U.S. We’ll be sharing those comments with Congress in the coming days, and you can find them on our website here.

There are too many members to thank here for this great start to our work in 2015. I was impressed by your passion, the evidence you marshalled describing the enduring importance of your work, and the wide array of people who rely upon your work.

Our next step will be to expand the circle of people whose voices support PEG Access and community media. We want to make sure that ALL access organizations in the U-S are heard from, so we need to expand our reach to all corners of the country. And we want the folks who use your services and watch your channels to speak out. So expect to see us roll out some tools you can use for that in the coming days.

And of course, if you haven’t renewed or become a member of ACM, I want to urge you to join us now in 2015. Go to our website and renew or join for the first time. It’s your support, energy and inspiration that allows us to be a strong, consistent and effective presence in Washington DC, and to help you do better work at home in your community.

Thank you!

Mike Wassenaar

PS to get updates from me and ACM on Twitter, follow me @mikewassenaar and @alliancecm